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Calvary rises from ashes

March 10--The true nature of water lies in its duality. The source of all life, water can be calming, cleansing and redemptive, like those that flow through the ancient Jordan river basin in Israel.

It can also be destructive, powerful and all-consuming, like the tempests that have shredded ships and desecrated civilizations.

Don Spires understands the power of water. The pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Brunswick has experienced both sides of the coin. On the one hand, he's used baptismal waters to wash away sins of his parishioners. On the other, raging waters from Hurricane Matthew nearly destroyed the church he's come to call home.

Of course, when the storm was brewing, Spires never expected to see the church flooded, as it was miles from the shore -- located at 3105 Wildwood Dr. in Brunswick.

"The church was here for 81 years then ... now 83 I guess. But water had never touched it. We were thinking about the trees and the roof but we weren't worried about water," he said.

After the evacuation order was lifted and recovery efforts began, Spires realized that he had been wrong.

"A man came to check on the sanctuary and called me. I asked him how it looked. He told me that I better sit down. I said 'why?' and he said ... 'the ocean is here,'" he said.

That it was -- the storm surge had found its way into Calvary Baptist, decimating the buildings with nearly two feet of sea water. From the ceilings to the floors, everything was completely saturated.

"It was 24 inches deep," Spires said. "And the smell ... you wouldn't believe the smell. It was awful."

More or less, everything was destroyed -- from the sanctuary to the bathrooms to pews themselves.

"We just had to throw all of those pews away. We filled up dumpster after dumpster," he said.

But losing items in the church wasn't the primary problem -- it was the lack of flood insurance which made rebuilding seem an impossibility. Spires searched high and low -- there was no money to even begin the process.

At that time, he knew there were few options and with estimates between $800,000 and $1 million to correct all the damage, things were looking bleak at best.

"We could sell it as it was and give the money to a mission. We could sell it and go set up in a little storefront somewhere and start over," he said. "But I believe God talks to you and some people think that's crazy ... but I prayed about it and I asked him what I should do and he said very simply, 'fix my church.'"

Spires took that charge to heart. And for the past two years, he and a dedicated team of congregants have scoured the area and beyond looking for help in terms of donations and building assistance. One of the first helping hands came from the Georgia Baptist Convention's disaster relief team who cleared out the building and prevented a serious mold infestation.

"If they hadn't have come, we wouldn't have been able to save the buildings," he said. "They did a lot for us."

But there was still so much to do -- namely find the money to rebuild. While many with means were asked to donate, Spires says most of the people who stepped up were those with very little to give. They simply gave out of the goodness and sincerity of their hearts. And little by little, those little efforts, began to add up.

Calvary rose from the ashes as generosity poured in. Money for a snazzy new kitchen was gifted. Funds for stained glass windows in the sanctuary was procured. A former parishioner who passed away willed part of his estate to the church.

There is still much work to be done -- roughly $40,000 to complete the sanctuary. But with the response and the love given by those in the community, Spires is filled with hope. And he is using the disaster as a point to shift and refocus, not just on the physical structure of the building, but the nature of the congregation inside.

"When I got here, Calvary had a kinda bad reputation. There was a lot of fussing and fighting. A lot of people left the church because of past hurts. And I think that has happened in a lot of places ... people get hurt in the church and they stop going. In fact, overall, there are more people who 'used to go to church' who don't now than people who actually go," he said. "I want to help heal those hurts and reach out to those people. Other things will come ... like the children's ministry and a good teen or young adult ministry but this is what I think we are being called to do."

Like the building itself, Spires sees the congregation itself transforming, moving into a more beautiful and spiritually sound place.

"This was a blessing for us ... I'm glad it happened. I'm happy with where we're at ... it was a very old church and it wasn't done very well originally. But now we're going to have one of the prettiest little churches in town," he said.

That also, Spires feels, extends to the attitudes of attendees who have been able to wash away past pain to move forward into brighter days.

"This whole thing ... it has reminded me of who God is. God had a vision of what he wanted to be done and no one deserves the praise but him. All we need to do is serve him and we are," he said. "We are proud to fix his house."